...CJ Mamalias History – Essay 1 Professor Hopkins February 21, 2015 Olmec and Maya Complex Societies confer to a set of factors that contain an agricultural surplus, urban settlements, specialized labor and trade, government, a stratified society, and sophisticated ritual traditions. Ever since the beginning of time, humans formed through generations and generations of species. It took quite a while for humans to fully develop their brains to start thinking out of the box and creating new ideas for their own. Nevertheless, complex societies arose independently during the centuries 3500 to 500 B.C.E. in several regions of the world. Out of all the other complex societies, the Olmec and Maya societies have some comparisons and differences that meet within the lines of the complex societies set of factors. The Olmec society appeared near the Gulf of Mexico during 1200 to 100 B.C.E., located near the modern Mexican City of Veracruz. When people refer to the first complex society of the Americas, they refer to them as the “Rubber People” because of the rubber trees that flourish in the region they inhabited. Their proper name is still unknown, so people labeled them Olmec, which means rubber people. There were many mysteries concerning the downfall of the Olmec’s around 400 B.C.E. when archaeologists studying the area found statues broken and buried. Although the Olmec’s declined, they influenced many other societies with astronomical observations, which helped...
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...of the Olmec’s origins strike a controversy that’s baffling between many scholars. Studies done by researchers such as Ivan Van Sertima have presented evidence that identifies the Olmec’s with the Mandé people of West Africa. According to Betty Meggers of the Smithsonian Institution the Olmec civilization originated due to Shang Chinese influences around 1200 BC. The ancient Olmec’s of Mexico and Central America were a fascinating people. Upon the discovery of colossal stone heads in Mexico during the early part of the twentieth Century, there was no doubt that the facial features and hair texture (including cornrows) represented in the colossal Olmec sculpture represented African people. The assertion that the Olmec came from Africa is supported with scientific evidence via genetics, writings, religion, language and archaeology. To elaborate, the Olmec’s were not Indians with "baby faces," or Indians who looked like Blacks. They were Africans no different from Africans found in the Mende regions of West Africa. Studies done by Ivan Van Sertima show that the Olmec’s used the Mende script, a writing system used among the Mandinkas and other Africans in West Africa. When the writings on Olmec monuments were translated, it was found that the language spoken by the Olmec’s was Mende. Also, The Olmec’s practiced a religion and astronomical sciences identical to those practiced by Africans in the Mali region and Nigeria today. Evidently, it’s clear that there are numerous amount of...
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...Pre-Hispanic Art Background Pre-Hispanic works are largely unrecognized as art; rather they tend to be categorized as archeological relics. That’s why most of the pre-Hispanic art treasures in Mexico are housed in museums of history and anthropology, rather than gracing the walls of art galleries alongside modern greats like Rufino Tamayo and Diego Rivera. In fact, both of these famous artists drew inspiration from pre-Hispanic art and prized their personal collections. Tamayo (1899-1991) a Zapotec from Oaxaca, was adamant that his collection be preserved as art, not science (Barto, 2006). That’s why upon his death he donated it to National Institute of Fine Art instead of the National Institute of Anthropology. The result is the Rufino Tamayo Museum, the only place in Mexico where you can see pre-Hispanic works on display as art for art’s sake. Some of the most significant humanistic pieces come not from celebrated city states like Teotihuacán or Chichen Itza, but from the civilizations of the west coast, from what is today Guerrero, Colima, Jalisco, Nayarit and Sinaloa. For the most part, these cultures remain an enigma. “To some extent this is due to geographic isolations,” Pesqueira explains, “but mostly it is because they left no great ceremonial centers like Teotihuacán and Monte Albán.” The art of occidental Mexico mostly differs from that of other regions in its secular nature (Barto, 2006). Rather than depicting idealized images of priests and warriors, their sculpture...
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...OLMEC Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Name & Code: Date of Submission: OLMEC The term Olmec refer to the culture of a group of Mexican inhabitants who lived in the hot coastal plain of the modern cities of Tabasco and Veracruz, between 1200 and 400 BC this area was also referred to as heartland due to the large numbers of this community and the their monuments. These inhabitants are one of the most fascinating communities to ever exist. They were the first society in Mexico and it is from this group that all other inhabitant of Mesoamerica followed. The community came to existence from around 1200 to about 400 BC and they inhabited in the forests, savannas, and rivers of the Gulf of Mexico. Very little is known of the Olmec’s community but what remains out clear is that the group followed a 365-day year, constructed pyramids using different types of designs , planted some crops such as avocado, corn and cacao, and had comparable religious practices as the Mayans who followed them practiced hunting and fishing (COE, M 77). The wide range of distribution of Olmec work of art and Olmecoid iconography during much of Mesoamerica is a sign that the group practiced long-distance trade. Foreign, impressive and high-value materials for instance greenstone and sea shell were transported in large numbers over very long distances. Whereas the Olmec were not the first community in Mesoamerica to practice the long-distance trading, the Olmec era...
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...ArtH 111 Midterm Study Guide 1. Menkaure & Khamerernebty • Context-religious This is a Ka sculpture. In Egyptian culture, there is the notion that an energy/spirit/soul, the Ka, survived after the actual body expired. Even though there was no longer a body, the Ka would continue to need shelter and sustenance; the Ka would inhabit the mummy to receive offering from family, worshippers, etc. Because mummies were frequently stolen or destroyed, Ka sculptures were made in case the Ka spirit needed a new shelter. The family could ten continue to bring offerings to the Ka. • Style-period This piece is of the Egyptian Old Kingdom style. It is a freestanding piece, but connected by back to the Greywacke block; this is very characteristic of the period style. As for the form, it is also characteristic in the manner that bilateral symmetry prevails, there are harmonious proportions, and how the lines work to keep the human figure compact. It is also characteristic of the Egyptian Old Kingdom style in the manner of how the portrait establishes a standard representation of Kingship and Queenship. They carry themselves as royalty, are wearing distinctive high status clothing (Headdresses, false beard), and the female’s “womanhood” is very apparent (swollen belly, full breasts, pubic triangle). 2. The Apoxyomenos (“The Scraper”) • Materials The Greek original of this piece was a bronze. Unfortunately, like many other pieces of the time, it was melted down. What...
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...The coast of the Gulf of Mexico was inhabited between 250 and 500 C.E. Here, many different sculptures were created to represent different aspects of the people of that time. The Winged Bat Figure (fig. 1) is an example of this from a region of Mexico that is now known as Veracruz. The Winged Bat Figure shows how the people of Veracruz were a very mythologically-oriented society who created objects for situations that pertained to death and had funerary purposes. This terracotta sculpture depicts a seated bat with its wings extended. It has oblong ears on its round face. The bat’s left ear is chipped while the right is very well intact. Its wide-set eyes are two dark, small circles. Beneath its left eye is a black diamond shaped marking. The center of its face is marked by a vertical indentation. The lips of this creature are large; so large that they protrude off its face. Its two front dull fangs are askew. The abdomen of the bat is shaped like the top half of a wine bottle and its neck is disproportional to the rest of its body; it is a fraction longer than it should be. Its tongue sticks out and ends at the part of its chest where the two decorative bands meet. Together, the bands form a shape that looks very similar to the bat’s tongue. Below these bands is a horizontal strap that separates this double band formation from the single band that covers the bat’s genital area. The bulbous decorative features on the top right and bottom left of each wing resemble...
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...Pamela Ramasami ARH 2050 Prof Kaufman Lowes Museum Paper 1. Greek and/or Roman art: How is the body depicted in the art you select? Greek Chosen Art Work: Calyx Krater, Unknown Artist, 4th century BCE, Ancient Greek Next to Art Work: Bacchanal, by Anthony Triano, 1966, United States The Calyx Krater has an abstracted style. The bodies are proportional to the scale, however the main god, Dionysian is the standout character throughout the piece. The bodies’ of the subjects have an idealized style. For example, Dionysian’s body is detailed to show muscles that convey strength. His body is covered with a simple toga, which loosely hugs him, to show off his natural male body. Like the male subject, the female has on a long strappy dress, which loosely covers her body, to hide any identifying curves. Although, all the figures are all minimally clothed, none of them has gender related details. For example, even though the satyr is completely naked, no pubic detail is present. Nor are any lines to symbolize the breasts on the female subject. The facial details of all the subjects are barely discernible, as if to draw the viewer’s attention towards their bodies. Roman Chosen Art Work: Vertummus, Unknown Artist, 200-250 Ancient, Rome Next to Art Work: Eros, Artist Unknown, 1st century, Ancient, Rome The depiction of Verummus represents an idealized style. The body is depicted with a sense of strength and presence. The artist portrayed this great warrior’s strength...
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